Thanks to all the doctoral student representatives over the years, we have been able to face KI leadership with your concerns and wishes. Together we can change KI for the better, we can make them listen. That is why we are always looking for individuals to join us in representing the interests of doctoral students, whether that is at a departmental level or more centrally. Change will not happen without the choice of some of us to dedicate part of our time as Doctoral Student Representatives.
These are important positions for building a strong network of PhD representatives across KI, ensuring effective representation and feedback from all departments. Our goal this year is to establish a robust network of safety and department representatives to facilitate structured feedback at the departmental level. This is a great opportunity to get involved, contribute to workplace safety, and strengthen collaboration across departments.
Doctoral Student Representatives are given the opportunity to apply for funding that will allow them to extend their PhD by a short amount. This is KI’s and our way of thanking you for your contributions. Read more and apply at the link below. Each application is assessed individually by the DSA Board.
On November 1st, we will hold the DSA Annual General Meeting, which will be held hybrid at A0412, Biomedicum (Solnavägen 9) and online via Zoom. All doctoral students at KI with a valid MF membership can attend the event, express their opinions, and vote for their favourite candidate for each position. Remember, voting is a right and a duty, especially if we want to make a difference in our community at KI. If you joining in person, please be at the entrance of the building 15 minutes before the session you are attending starts.
If you have missed the deadline to apply for a position, you can still nominate yourself on the day of the Annual General Meeting. Check our programme and positions below!
For any questions related to the DSA Elections for 2026 or any of the positions advertised then reach out to us by sending an email to [email protected]
It is vital for us and all doctoral students that the positions
1) Manager of Doctoral Welfare and Health workgroup (Group 4),
2) Manager of Public Relations Workgroup (Group 4), and
3) Chief Student and Doctoral Safety Representative (HSSO) (Group 1)
are filled in as soon as possible. So, PLEASE, spread the word and consider applying yourself.
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Time
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Session
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11:50-12:00
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Welcome and introductions to the process
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12:00-13:00
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Election of the DSA Board positions (Group 4)
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13:00-13:30
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Break
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13:30-14:30
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Election of Central KI Representatives (Group 2)
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14:30-15:00
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Break
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15:00-16:00
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Election of Department & Safety Representatives (Group 1) and Doctoral Programme & Research School Representatives (Group 3)
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Doctoral Student Representatives can be split into several groups, depending on where they operate, the workload, the language requirements, and the commitment associated with the position.
These doctoral student representatives operate at a departmental level. They are in charge of portraying the concerns and wishes of the doctoral students of their department towards the leadership of the department.
Student representation at KI’s central level is vital to make sure that the voice of doctoral students is heard at KI’s highest decision-making bodies. These are bodies that shape KI’s vision, strategy, investments, recruitment, and work environment. Many of these positions require good understanding of Swedish.
These doctoral student representatives contribute to organising, planning, developing, and evaluating courses, seminars, and other activities.
The main function of the Doctoral Students’ Association (Doktorandsektionen; DSA) is twofold; 1) to represent the interests and concerns of doctoral students to the university administration and other relevant bodies, and 2) to build a sense of community. DSA is responsible for electing and coordinating all Doctoral Student Representatives. It is independent of KI and run by doctoral students for doctoral students.
Departmental Doctoral Student Representatives can have a wide variety of responsibilities, depending on the department’s needs and culture. Generally, the duties include improving education and the work environment for students in your department. Specifically, you will be asked to participate in the admission seminars, establishment of new doctoral positions, and have close contact with the study director. In some departments, you might be invited to discussions regarding green light applications for PIs. Some Departmental Doctoral Student Representatives also choose to organise social events to improve the communication between all students of the department.
Currently looking for representatives at the following departments:
o Department of Medicine, Solna (MedS)
o Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset (KI SÖS)
o Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology – CLINTEC
o Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics
o Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery (MMK)
o Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (FyFa)
o Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM)
o Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital
Student and Doctoral Safety Representatives (or SSOs in short) are the first contact for students of your department who experience issues with their work environment. As an SSO, you will be invited to sit on the work environment group of your department. While the additional workload associated with Safety is usually negligible, you will receive special training through KI to give you the necessary skill set in the field of managing safety issues.
SSOs are also involved in cases of harassment and discrimination against doctoral students at the department. It is a very important position to ensure no supervisor or colleague abuses their position. We have created a guide on how to report harassment and discrimination. SSOs form a network known as the “Safety Network”, which meets irregularly and discusses cases.
Currently looking for safety representatives at several departments. Have a look at the Safety Network page to find the vacancies.
The Chief student safety representative (HSSO) coordinates the activities of the student safety representatives and cover the departments which lack a student safety representative. To help the HSSO, a deputy is also elected.
HSSO is a student representative in KI’s Safety Committee (Skyddskommitté). The Safety Committee is a consultative body and, according to the Work Environment Act (AML) participates in the planning and implementation of work environment activities.
For more information, visit their website: https://staff.ki.se/our-ki/safety-committee
Participating in meetings with leadership figures at KI can be quite daunting at first. It is vital to get the input of other Doctoral Student Representatives on the activities of your committee to ensure that the interests of the student body are heard. Therefore, attendance to the DSA Board Meetings, which occur once per month, is mandatory for all Central KI Representative positions. During those meetings, topics from all over KI are brought up for discussion.
Konsistoriet is the highest decision-making body of KI and is formed by members appointed directly by the Swedish Government, the KI president, the university director, and representatives of teachers, employees, and students. The board discusses issues on various topics, from KI’s overall vision and organisation, to employment, annual reporting, and important recommendations for all university sectors.
Language requirement: Swedish is the main language for all documents and discussions.
You can read more about the position here: https://ki.se/om-ki/konsistorium
The Faculty Board is chaired by the KI president (rektor) and includes the three academic vice-presidents, the three campus deans, three faculty/teacher representatives, and three student representatives. The vice-president (prorektor) and the university director also join the meetings. The Faculty Board is the main management decision body of KI, which is responsible for all academic and scientific issues, budget, infrastructure, and resource allocation at KI.
As a student representative, you can comment on how certain decision may affect doctoral students and also express the needs of doctoral students at KI. For example, to increase investments in specific central KI support activities or delegate tasks to the committee for doctoral education. You can give input on the development of education and research at KI to influence the strategic agenda and decision-making.
Language requirement: Swedish is the main language for all documents and discussions.
You can read more about the position here: https://ki.se/en/about/the-faculty-board
The committee for research (KF) decides and discusses topics related to the preparation, quality, and implementation of research and supports the Faculty Board. As a student representative, you can take part in decisions related to the quality and implementation of research at KI.
Language requirement: Swedish will be the main language for all documents and discussions.
You can read more about the position here: https://staff.ki.se/committee-for-research
The committee for doctoral education (KFU) makes decisions about doctoral education at KI, including funding, course quality, admission and dissertation procedures, and supervisor education. KFU sets the guidelines that will then be implemented by other committees and the departments, which in turn report back to KFU.
KFU meets approximately once a month except for the summer break, with meetings lasting half a day. Preparation for the meetings is needed, including reading material beforehand and discussing with other student representatives in other KI organs/DSA board, which usually takes a few hours.
As a student representative, you have the opportunity to improve doctoral education in a fundamental and long-term way.
Language requirement: Swedish will be the main language for all documents and part discussions. While you may reply in English, good Swedish reading skills and oral comprehension are required. Prior experience in working with strategic questions of higher education is highly beneficial.
You can read more about the position here: https://staff.ki.se/committee-for-doctoral-education
This committee decides on courses that are given on a doctoral level at KI, their budget, as well as the evaluation of the different doctoral programmes. It suggests which courses are compulsory in the PhD syllabus and makes strategic decisions on which kind of doctoral courses and programmes are needed at KI.
As a student representative, you will need to read, comment, and approve all the doctoral course syllabus throughout the year before the committee meetings. The committee meets 2-3 times per semester for half a day and is chaired by the deputy vice-president of doctoral education. Once per semester, some of the teachers’ course evaluations will be discussed during the meeting.
Language requirement: English will be the main language for meetings and most of the documents. Some course syllabi will be in Swedish.
You can read more about the position here: https://medarbetare.ki.se/kurs-och-programkommitten
The dissertation committee reviews doctoral and licentiate defense applications to ensure they follow KI rules and are of high quality. The committee is divided in two local committees Solna & Flemingsberg, and each committee meets once a month on Zoom.
As a student representative, you can first look closely at how the dissertation application works and the bases that bring to approve, defer or reject it. Moreover, you can assure that the rules are applied equally to all students and bring out modifications of the rules that the committee could discuss and ask the Doctoral Education Committee to consider.
Language requirement: Swedish will be the main language for discussions and meetings; documents will be in Swedish and English.
You can read more about the position here: https://staff.ki.se/doctoral-education/time-to-defend-your-thesis/the-dissertation-committee
The steering group for KID funding is responsible for proposing decisions on KID-funding announcements and grading criteria and evaluating and following up on previous KID-funding rounds.
As a student representative, you can actively participate in the process.
Language requirement: Documentation will be in Swedish, but discussions will be held in English.
You can read more about the position here: https://staff.ki.se/steering-group-for-kid-funding
The Network Medicine Alliance (NMA) is an initiative coordinated by Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) | Harvard Medical School. NMA’s long-term goals are to build strong interactions between national and NMA partners excellent in theory and methods development and to catalyze competence building in network medicine.
As a student representative at the KI NMA steering group, you will have the opportunity to help run the collaboration work internally at KI and help to realise NMA’s philosophy.
Language requirement: English will be the main language for documents and meetings.
You can read more about the position here: https://ki.se/en/collaboration/the-network-medicine-alliance
The docent committee is responsible for reviewing the docentship applications, and deciding whom to assign the title of docent.
As a student representative, you can be a part of this process, and actively influence the quality of teaching, shaping the future of education at KI. It also gives you a unique opportunity to familiarise yourself with the requirements to become a docent if you consider continuing in academia after your PhD, and to learn about different academic career pathways.
Language requirement: Swedish will be the main language; some documents will be in English.
You can read more about the position here: https://staff.ki.se/the-docent-committee
The goal of the Internationalisation Board is to coordinate and prioritise investments in international collaborations/ internationalisation within the university.
As a student representative, you contribute to the discussion and give input on the different ongoing and future internationalisation projects from a student’s point of view. This is also a great opportunity to learn about KI international collaborations with universities and countries.
Language requirement: English is the main working language, though documentation can be in Swedish.
You can read more about the position here: https://staff.ki.se/our-ki/international-collaboration-and-internationalisation-for-staff/internationalisation-board
The KI/SLL Research council is the body under the collaborative organisation between KI and Stockholm Region responsible for discussing actions to implement the research collaborations between the two institutions.
As a student representative, you can give important input from the student community on how to improve or change such collaboration and you can also benefit from networking with people from Stockholm Region and KI central bodies.
Language requirement: Documents and discussions will be in Swedish.
You can read more about the position here: https://ki.se/en/collaboration/collaborative-organisation-ki-region-stockholm
The Council for Environment and Sustainable Development advises the President on KI’s environmental and sustainability work. As a student representative you can contribute valuable input from the student community on sustainability-related issues, suggest improvements, and engage in discussions that shape KI’s environmental policies.
You can read more about the position here: https://staff.ki.se/our-ki/kis-environmental-and-sustainability-management-system/council-for-environment-and-sustainable-development
Cancer Research KI (CR KI) serves as an overarching umbrella organisation for cancer research at KI, conducted by more than 400 research groups at multiple campuses and departments. The overall goal is to generate new scientific discoveries that can be rapidly translated into clinical practice for the benefit of patients and society.
As a student representative you can choose which parts of CR KI you would like to contribute to, from administrative matters to organising the annual CR KI retreat.
You can read more about the position here: https://ki.se/en/cancer-research-ki/about-cancer-research-ki
This position is always elected for two years, so there is already a representative for 2026.
The Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health (CESH) is a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and Makerere University in Uganda. The aim is to develop capacity and mobilise actions towards achieving sustainable health, in accordance with the United Nations’ Agenda 2030.
You can read more about the position here: https://ki.se/en/collaboration/international-collaboration/collaboration-networks/centre-of-excellence-for-sustainable-health
Doctoral programmes and Research schools organise and coordinate courses and learning activities specific to their research field. As a student representative, you will contribute to organising, planning, developing, and evaluating courses, seminars, and other activities. The steering groups usually meet 2-3 times/semester (although that might differ depending on the group).
The Course and Programme Committee (KPK) is the superordinate committee and coordinates/evaluates all steering groups.
If you think that there are improvements to be made to courses provided by KI in your specific research fields, the steering groups offer the perfect opportunity to get involved. Maybe you think there is a whole subject missing within the offered courses or potential to improve existing courses. This is your opportunity to change that!
Language requirement: English is the language of communication, some documents might be in Swedish.
Currently looking for representatives for the following programmes:
o Allergy, immunology and inflammation (Aii)
o Biology of infections and global health (BIGH)
o Tumor Biology and Oncology (FoTO)
o Cell Biology and Genetics
o Development and Regeneration (DevReg)
o Cardiovascular Research
o Joint doctoral education programme in medical technology (KI-KTH)
You can read more about the positions here: https://staff.ki.se/doctoral-programmes
Language requirement: Swedish is the language of communication, the positions are specific for clinical PhDs.
Currently looking for representatives for the following research school:
o Family medicine and primary care
You can read more about the positions here: https://staff.ki.se/research-schools
The Board of the Doctoral Students’ Association (Doktorandsektionen; DSA) consists of ten KI doctoral students. It is the main decision-making body of DSA and is responsible for organising social and scientific events for the doctoral student community at KI, taking care of the doctoral education and welfare needs, and maintaining a dialogue with the KI doctoral education leadership. Moreover, the DSA Board is electing and coordinating the work of all Doctoral Student Representatives. This workload is divided among different workgroups that focus on specific aspects of PhD life at KI. The DSA Board has its own budget that can be used to organise activities and events for doctoral students at KI.
As a DSA Board Member, you have the possibility to meet and interact with many people, understand the internal organisation of KI and Medicinska Föreningen in-depth, and represent more than 2 000 doctoral students. Lastly, you also get the opportunity to greatly increase your scientific and personal network while also enhancing your soft skills and resumé.
The DSA Board Meetings are conducted in English, so no prior knowledge of Swedish is required. We always welcome people without previous experience to apply: the Board is often composed of experienced members and newcomers to guarantee a good working balance.
As the DSA Chairperson, you are the reference person for the KI doctoral student community. During the time period of your appointment, you will be in contact with KI leadership, the Presidium of the student union (Medicinska Föreningen; MF) and with other external associations and organisations.
You are responsible for coordinating the work of the DSA board, chairing the meetings, supporting the other Board Members, and supervising the working groups.
As the DSA Chairperson, you will have weekly or monthly meetings with the doctoral education committee and KI leadership during working hours, evening meetings for some of the student union’s committees, and handling a large volume of email correspondence. Although it sounds like a lot of work, the position has many benefits, allowing you to really get to know some of the most important people in Life Sciences in Stockholm and Sweden.
Language requirement: The tasks of this position can easily be accomplished without prior knowledge of Swedish; however, understanding Swedish can be useful.
This position requires the candidate to have previous experience of how the DSA Board functions and how the Doctoral Education is organised at KI. It is also suggested to have a spirit of initiative and the ability to relate and communicate with people in leading positions.
The DSA Vice-Chair works in collaboration with the DSA Chairperson to complete various DSA tasks. They attend many of the meetings together, while some are delegated amongst themselves. The Vice-Chair is responsible for ensuring smooth organisation and running of each of the DSA workgroups, and supporting the workgroup managers throughout the year. Additionally, this position requires the candidate to be flexible and willing to jump in and help out wherever a need arises. As such, there is no strict job description for the Vice-Chair, but the ability to work with a variety of different tasks and people is necessary. It is a fun and rewarding job, with the potential to become deeply involved in decisions made throughout all DSA workgroups, and several Central KI committees. Previous experience with the DSA board is helpful but not mandatory.
The DSA Secretary ensures the smooth running of DSA Board Meetings. Prior to meetings, the Secretary is responsible for scheduling the meeting, creating the agenda, properly announcing it, and keeping track of absentee members. During the meeting, the Secretary assists the DSA Chairperson, makes sure the agenda points stay within the allotted time, and most importantly, takes meeting notes. After the meeting, the Secretary collects signatures to verify the notes and archives them according to the protocol. If you are good at organising and want to learn more about the inner workings of DSA and KI, this is an excellent position for you.
The DSA Treasurer is the accountant of DSA and has the task of overviewing the expenses of the association. It is the DSA Treasurer’s job to manage the budget wisely and efficiently, keep the finances up to date, and make sure that everything gets paid on time.
There are no requirements in terms of language or previous experience in finance. It is a fun position to have as you keep in touch with all DSA workgroups to hear about their activity and budget plans, and as a reward, you gain insight into financial matters and organisation.
DSA is organised into six different workgroups, each managed by a DSA Board Member known as DSA Workgroup Manager. Most of the work conducted by DSA originates from these workgroups. This position is a managerial position, meaning that you are expected to delegate the work that needs to be done to workgroup members that you will recruit at the start of your mandate.
Currently looking for:
o Manager of Doctoral Welfare and Health workgroup
A lot of the work we do as DSA is achieved through our Workgroups. Joining one of them is an excellent way to develop soft skills like communication, leadership and project management. We are running a lot of projects simultaneously and are always in need of more people to help us around. Whether you want to help organise a yoga class or include more information on employment benefits in the PhD Information Booklet, your help will make a real difference in the lives of your fellow doctoral students.
Simply put, do you have time to help us out? Then apply!
The Doctoral Students’ Association is a section of Medicinska Föreningen
© 2025 – Doctoral Students’ Association
